


Fly

by skivvysupreme



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 15:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10744935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skivvysupreme/pseuds/skivvysupreme
Summary: In this Disney Fairies AU, Blaine, Quinn, Kurt, and the other fairies of Pixie Hollow have a very serious problem on their hands.PS: save the bees





	Fly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whatstheproblembaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatstheproblembaby/gifts).



> Written from a one-word prompt on tumblr: "butterfly!"

“What are we going to do? We keep losing bees on the mainland and we’ll lose too much pollen if we don’t have enough bees to bring it back. Why do the humans have to make things so difficult?” Quinn is furious, her wings twitching in irritation and her face turning almost as rosy as the rest of her red flower petal dress as she paces around the mushroom patch. Blaine has returned early from his recon visit to the mainland with bad news, and she isn’t taking it well.

Blaine shakes his head, arms crossed as he stares at his little orange shoes. He’s angry at the humans, yes, but more than that, he’s _devastated_. He took twice as many bees to the mainland at the start of spring than he found when he returned to check up on them, and the bees he found were stressed and exhausted from trying to overcompensate, buzzing sadly as they flitted from flower to flower. He doesn’t know how to protect them from human foolishness and it’s breaking his heart. “I’m sorry. We – I didn’t prepare for this.”

Quinn softens a little, looking at him. “It’s not your fault, Blaine. The humans _clearly_ don’t understand these things the way we do. But this is going to be a big problem.” 

He knows. That pollen is vital, and this won’t just affect his team of animal fairies, or Quinn’s team of garden fairies; they’ll all feel the loss of it when the bees return to Pixie Hollow. 

 _If_  they return to Pixie Hollow.

“Magic-wise,” Quinn says, pacing, we can give them the same protection we’ve been giving the flowers the past few years, and then some, now that we know what we’re up against. I’ll need your help with that, bee whisperer.”

Blaine manages a small smile. “Of course.”

“But we need to get that pollen back somehow. And we aren’t going to get any more bees this season than we already have, so…” 

Blaine thinks, and thinks, and thinks. If only the bees could just… do more, without exhausting themselves trying… 

“Ahem… If I may?” 

Quinn and Blaine whirl around at the sound of a new voice. Blaine gulps. 

The tall, slim fairy standing before them, clad in all green, anxiously adjusts the acorn cap he wears as a hat. “I may be able to help. I hope I can. Excuse me for interrupting.” 

“Please do,” says Blaine, his heart thumping a hummingbird beat as Kurt smiles back at him. Blaine never sees his crush as often as he likes, since the tinker fairies are usually so busy in their big, semi-secluded workshop, and he wonders what has brought him here now. Kurt was the first fairy Blaine saw when he joined the Hollow, and Blaine will never forget the look of disappointment on Kurt’s face when it was revealed that Blaine’s talents lie with the animal fairies and not the tinkers. 

“What did you have in mind, Kurt?” Quinn asks. Blaine can just barely see the glimmer of hope underneath her serious features. She knows Kurt and his talents well, having belonged to the Hollow almost as long as he has.

Kurt loosely clasps his hands together in front of himself and steps forward. “We need the bees to carry twice their usual amount of pollen, correct?”

“More or less,” nods Quinn. 

“More would be best. We’ve lost half of them and I don’t know how many more will be gone by the time we return to the mainland.” The grief of losing his bees, temporarily dampened by his excitement in Kurt’s presence, settles over Blaine again. “But whatever pollen we can recover will help.”

Kurt frowns, staring at the ground for a moment in somber sympathy. “Yes. Well, I propose that we physically mimic the presence of more bees. It will ensure that none of the pollen is damaged, because it will be collected in almost the same way as it always is, and it will be less strange for the bees that are still there. Comforting, even.” 

“How do we do that?”

“Fuzzy harnesses,” Kurt says, simply. “Small baskets that are as close to the bees’ natural texture as possible. They’ll hang from the bees and catch the pollen when the bees can’t hold any more.” 

Quinn sighs. “Have you been in your workshop so long that you’ve forgotten how small the bees are? They’ll be weighed down too much to fly around.” 

“Have you forgotten that I designed Artie’s wheelchair?” Kurt fires back, brandishing a couple of prints sketched out on thin leaves as if he was ready and waiting for this argument. He carries the prints over to the nearest flat mushroom and spreads them out, inviting Quinn and Blaine to hover in the air over his shoulder as he points to various details. 

“Look, the design follows the same principles. The harness wraps around the back, here, above and below the wings, but doesn’t constrict them. The other straps, here, will go around the bees’ bellies, but again, it won’t get in the way of any of their legs. Now, on Artie’s chair, this is where the seat and wheels hang. It’s true that he can only fly short distances and hover very low when he wears it, but here’s where the bees’ design will be different. The baskets will go right here, where the wheels are on Artie’s chair; the difference is that the baskets will be nearly weightless because they’re mainly a frame for the dandelion fuzz that will mimic the bee fur. They’re made of leaf fibers and they won’t have to support body weight the way the chair does. Do you see what I mean?”

Quinn peers a little closer at the design and the weight/size measurements Kurt has scribbled along the sides. She finally nods, slowly, her mouth dropped open in awe. “This is perfect. How on earth did you do this so quickly? Blaine just got back with the news.” 

“It’s easy. Well, for a tinker, anyway,” Kurt answers, shrugging one shoulder as he smooths a hand over his sketches. “I was on my way over here anyway, and when I heard the two of you talking, I whipped these up. I always have my sketching leaves with me and I know Artie’s chair design like the back of my hand.” 

He turns to Blaine and adds, “Tina told me you were back. The water fairies’ pond is right next to our burrow and the current brings them all kinds of news. I was going to come and say hi, and ask about your journey, but…” 

Blaine’s wings skip a flutter and he lands a bit clumsily on his feet. “Oh.”

They stare at each other for a moment, until Quinn lands gracefully next to Kurt and starts tapping her fingers in an obvious sort of way against the mushroom table.

“So!” Kurt continues, stepping back from the designs, “I thought we could fit the bees with their harnesses when you go back to give them those reinforced magical protections you mentioned. I’ll rally the other tinker fairies so we can have enough of these ready in three days, if you can wait that long to return to the mainland.” 

“Three days is perfect.” Quinn smiles for the first time since Blaine’s return, beaming at Kurt and his designs. “We’ll need time to gather and prepare a group anyway. Could you come with us to make sure everything is set up properly?” 

Kurt hovers ecstatically for a few seconds, squeaking, before he drops back down. “It would be my pleasure! I’ve never been to the mainland, you know, tinker fairies don’t usually go. This isn’t the occasion I would have chosen, but I’m happy to help.” 

“Great. I’ll work with my team on the magical preparations, and you can work with Blaine and the other animal fairies to make sure the bees’ needs are taken care of. Deal?” 

“Deal,” Kurt agrees, shaking Quinn’s hand before she flies off, leaving the boys alone in the mushroom patch.

Blaine can barely contain his excitement. He could be a bee himself, the way he’s buzzing and fluttering at the prospect of going to the mainland with Kurt, no matter the reason. 

“I’m looking forward to working with you,” Kurt says, holding out a hand as he smooths his leafy vest with the other. There’s a faint blush on his cheeks when he starts rambling, “I’ve done so much with the water fairies and garden fairies but I haven’t gotten to work with any of the animals, and I know this is a terrible situation, but I hope–”

Blaine zooms forward and wraps Kurt in a hug, tipping him backwards a little with the force of flying into him. Kurt catches himself against the mushroom table, laughing in surprise as he readjusts his acorn hat, and hugs him back. 

“I’m so happy you’re helping us,” Blaine says, giving him one last squeeze before he steps back. He’s still holding one of Kurt’s hands in both of his own. “I’ve always admired your work. Everyone knows Artie’s chair was brilliant. _Is_  brilliant.” 

The blush on Kurt’s cheeks deepens as he glances down at their hands, but he presses his lips together and grins, clearly proud of himself. “It made the Hollow accessible to him again. His old chair was clunky, and it was tolerable in the burrow but nowhere else. I just wanted to see him happy.” 

“Well, it worked. You’re a genius.”

Kurt’s mouth forms a tiny little ‘O.’ “Maybe, maybe not. I’m his friend, first and foremost, and I want to make a difference. That’s all I ever want to do. Everything can get better, always.” 

Blaine’s wings begin to flutter of their own accord, threatening to lift him off the ground again. He runs a hand over his dark hair, slicked down with a bit of nectar, and asks, “So, um… Kurt?”

“Yes, Blaine?” It isn’t until Kurt squeezes his hand that he realizes they haven’t let go of each other. 

It should be awkward. 

It isn’t. 

“Would you… um.”

Kurt licks his lips, waiting. 

“Would you… accompany me back to my maple tree? S-so we can, um, let my team know the plan and start preparations, I mean.” Blaine looks down and shuts his eyes when he finishes talking, mentally berating himself for letting his courage falter when all he wants is to ask Kurt to go on a walk around the pond. 

Kurt watches him for a moment with a little smile, putting something together in his head before he answers. “Of course. And then, when we’re done visiting my burrow to get _my_  team on board, would you like to go for a walk through the rosebushes?”

Blaine’s nervous grimace becomes a thousand-firefly beam as he nods, wordlessly but ecstatically, and lets go of Kurt’s hand so that he can wrap up his designs. 

Kurt reaches for him again, taking his hand without a second thought before they lift off for the animal fairies’ maple tree. “I just think I should hold onto you, Blaine,” he says, one eyebrow arched. “I’m not sure you can keep up.” 

Blaine takes the cheeky challenge for what it is and holds on tight as they fly. “We’ll see about that.”


End file.
